Silk Road case goes to court

The U.S. government has begun its case against Ross Ulbricht for allegedly running the notorious “Silk Road” online marketplace of illegal goods.

The U.S. Attorney’s office of the Southern District of New York has accused Ulbricht of facilitating over $1.2 billion in sales of unlawful and illegal goods on Silk Road. U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York is overseeing the case.

Texas resident Ulbricht was indicted last February, after being arrested in October 2013 in California. At the time of his arrest, Ulbricht was charged with narcotics conspiracy, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, and money laundering. Both the charges of narcotics and engaging in a criminal enterprise have maximum penalties of lifetime imprisonment. Ulbricht has plead not guilty to all charges.